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This is a discussion on Something wrong with this picture? within the Concealed Carry Issues & Discussions forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; This might be a repost but do you believe this women did anything wrong
Doing Freedom 'zine: Vin Suprynowicz
That Scared the Crap Out of ...

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That Scared the Crap Out of Me, That Someone Could Have a Gun in the Store'

Vin Suprynowicz

On Monday, May 22, Sandra Suter was standing in the check-out line of the Wal-Mart in Spring Hill, Fla. when she saw several store employees wrestling with a knife-wielding man.

The employees had apprehended 50-year-old Willie J. Redding of Brookville--reported by the St. Petersburg Times to have previous convictions for selling drugs and dealing in stolen property--attempting to steal a VCR.

Dropping his loot, Redding pulled a small blade and lunged, cutting two employees, according to a Hernando County sheriff's report.

"Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" one of the bleeding employees was yelling.

Mrs. Suter, a 53-year-old grandmother, reacted as she had been trained.

"I have a concealed weapons permit," she announced as she walked up to the armed assailant and presented the .40-caliber pistol she keeps in her purse. "Either drop the knife, or I'll shoot you."

Getting smart in a hurry, Mr. Redding surrendered, was jailed, and gained release the next day on $3,000 bond.

"I just did what I thought was right," Grandma Suter told Jamie Malernee of the St. Petersburg Times. "It was the first time I've ever had to pull my gun other than at the firing range."

"Spokesmen for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and Wal-Mart advise civilians not to get involved in such situations. 'We want to keep our stores a pleasant place to shop, so we would never encourage our customers to arm themselves,' said Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams. ...

"Shopper Lorinda Smith, who was in the candy aisle during the confrontation, said Tuesday that she was more frightened by Suter's gun then the man's knife.

" 'That scared the c--- out of me, that someone could have a gun in the store,' said Smith of Hernando Beach. 'This one lady was in there with her children and when she saw (the gun) she was like, "Get on the ground! Get on the ground!" If I was there with my kids, I would have had a heart attack.' "

Frightened at the sight of a responsible fellow citizen--a five-foot-three grandmother--using a legally licensed handgun to stop a crime without even firing a shot.

Think about that. Would the ladies have been frightened if uniformed policemen had shown up and brandished guns in the process of arresting three-time loser Willie Redding? Of course not--even though, statistically, police officers accidentally shoot the wrong person in far more cases than do citizens with legally issued concealed-carry permits.

"NRA officials did not return phone calls," reporter Malernee continues. "Kim Mariani, spokeswoman for Handgun Control Inc., said Suter's actions, while brave, could have hurt someone.

" 'God forbid something went wrong," Mariani said. "It just escalates the situation, and a lot of times it's unnecessary.' "

Reporter Jamie Malernee has clearly done what she thought was her job, calling all parties who might be expected to comment on the incident. (We'll leave aside for the moment the fact that the NRA, which endorsed the gun control bills of 1934 and 1968 and the Brady Bill, actually comprises a larger gun control advocacy group than Handgun Control--that placing a call to Gun Owners of America or JPFO might have been more appropriate in any search for "balance.")

But clearly, the formulaic structure of this story--even though it's admirably complete--seeks to "balance" any implication that the carrying and use of firearms by law-abiding citizens is natural or proper.

A guy committing a theft escalates it to aggravated robbery and aggravated battery when he pulled a knife and cut a store employee,I would of done the same thing and he would of known I wasn't playing.Know you're state laws before you act .In some states that may be illegal,in Texas they give ya a medal.As far as the sheeples and anti gun idiots,by the way I don't believe the NRA endorsed the Brady Bill,they have been so brainwashed to think that a gun in the hands of anybody but a cop is a scary thing

What could have happened if that grand mother did not draw her weapon to end the incident? Especially considering that the perp already injured 2 people, I guess that clown over at HCI would have rathered an innocent person killed, rather than see a legally armed person save lives.... this warped mentality is being pushed by even those in law enforcement, "be a good witness." The media these days also loves to portray people who have used firearms to defined lives as "vigilantes." These same people claim to respect and value life, but if you don't believe it's worth defending, then it's nothing but a perversion.

IMHO, if that lady did not step in such a case as that described here, the perp would have easily taken someone's life over cheap crap. This is why I am thankful Georgia has laws where a legally armed citizen can use deadly force to prevent/stop a force able felony. Any State that says you can't help prevent or stop something like kidnapping, rape, robbery etc by using deadly force has no respect for the lives of it's citizens, they are seen as and nothing but an acceptable crime statistic.

Originally Posted by dukalmighty

A guy committing a theft escalates it to aggravated robbery and aggravated battery when he pulled a knife and cut a store employee,I would of done the same thing and he would of known I wasn't playing.Know you're state laws before you act .In some states that may be illegal,in Texas they give ya a medal.As far as the sheeples and anti gun idiots,by the way I don't believe the NRA endorsed the Brady Bill,they have been so brainwashed to think that a gun in the hands of anybody but a cop is a scary thing

That lady would not be breaking any laws in Georgia... but what about the ethical weaklings over in the other states where such action would have been illegal? How could such people live with themselves if they were legislated out of the right to help a fellow human being preserve their life?

I'll take a slightly diffrent stance here, was grandma keeping the 21' rule in mind before her 'smoke-wagon' cleared leather(purse)? I'll bet not.

If said BG had already cut a couple employees then I'm gonna assume deadly force is authorized......Armed help is great if your ready to go the next step with the knife-wielding, shoplifting BG.

Having said that, I'm glad it turned out good for all involved and that Grandma had the intestinal fortitude to step in and stop any further physical injury (or worse) to Wally-Worlds valued loss-prevention assoiciates and it's patrons.

Grasseater // Grass~eat~er noun, often attributive \ˈgras-ē-tər\
A person who is incapable of independent thought; a person who is herd animal-like in behavior; one who cannot distinguish between right and wrong; a foolish person.See also Sheep

I used to work in retail(not Walmart) and the security used to apprehend shoplifters all the time, and chase them into the parking lot and run after the escape vehicles and so forth. After a while for whatever reason they were told not to confront shoplifters anymore, just take pictures and give to the police.
In this case,by confronting the perp, the Walmart employees escalated the situation(even though they do have a right to defend their property). The grandma put the ultimate knife-stopper on display and ended the situation.
Maybe Walmart should hire uniformed CC security,that way they can put an end to something like this "with a badge," so sheeple don't get scared and Walmart start putting "no firearms" signs up.

"The right of the whole people, old and young, men, women and boys, and not militia only, to keep and bear arms of every description, not such merely as are used by the militia, shall not be infringed, curtailed, or broken in upon, in the smallest degree..."
Nunn v. State GA 1848

My Grandma would have done the same thing. She lived during a time when it was clearly right to stop a violent crime in progress. She was tough as nails and wouldn't have hesitated to pull her gun. She carried concealed for decades even before it was legal. Nobody messed with her twice.

I am totally confused about this. BG pulls out a knife and cuts two people, one person is bleeding all of the the place and begging for the BG to drop the knife. All this going one and some little old lady pulls a gun out of her purse and says drop the knife or I am going to drop your brains on the floor. The sight of the gun is what scared the people. The knife and blood was fine but the sight of a gun struck terror into the hearts of the children?

For one, that article has the most anti-self defense bias that I have seen in a long time.

It is in fact senationalized and slanted to imply that the old woman that pulled her gun was wrong.

Im many states where concealed weapons are legal, defense of a third person is justifiable.

Here we have s scuzball CUT someone with a knife...over stolen goods. The grandmother puilled her gun and stopped it. End of story.

As for the sheeple aspect of it...
I could care less what they say ,think or do. Sheeple are inconsequential when it comes to self defense. Since they expect someone else to take responsibility for what ought to be theirs, as far as I am concerned, they can bleat all day long about how I choose to defend myself or someone else...it matters not to me.

And you all of you weanies that think the old woman was wrong for stopping the action, then I'd say that you are as brainwashed as those that dont tote.
Just my 2 cents.